US tells Mugabe to let food aid through

The head of America's international development agency has warned that his country would stop delivering emergency assistance to Zimbabwe if President Robert Mugabe's government continues to deny food aid to opponents.

USAID's administrator, Andrew Natsios, said that much of the 100,000 tons of food the US had already provided for southern Africa through the World Food Programme (WFP) – and much of the further 200,000 tons it would be providing over the next few months – was destined for Zimbabwe.

But Mr Natsios supported the recent warning of the WFP that there would be no point in supplying the food to Zimbabwe if it was only going to government supporters.

Mr Natsios said that USAID had insisted on its food being distributed through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Zimbabwe to avoid distribution on political grounds. But it was concerned by reports that in Matabeleland, an opposition stronghold, so-called war veterans controlled by Mr Mugabe's government were still withholding distribution to punish those who had voted against the government in presidential elections in March.

Mr Natsios said this violated the US policy that food aid should not be used as a political weapon. But the US was continuing to distribute food to Zimbabwe, even though it disagreed with Mr Mugabe's land policies and his "suppression of the democratic opposition".

Britain's aid organisations this week asked the public for £40m to help the starving in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho and Angola.

Mr Natsios said Zimbabwe had made a number of decisions over the past six months which exacerbated the food disaster. Mr Natsios said: "We urge [Mr Mugabe] to reverse these policies before it is too late."

The USAID-chartered ship Liberty Star is due to arrive in Durban in the next few days with the next consignment of 36,450 tons of emergency food.

* A total £3m was donated in a single day of an appeal to help starving people in southern Africa, the Disasters Emergency Committee said yesterday. Volunteers handled 30,000 calls on Thursday night as the Southern Africa Crisis Appeal made broadcasts on all the main television channels.